DECORATING & DOWNSIZING THE KITCHEN - PART II - MORE DETAILS

Don't let this sunny shot fool you it is a chilly morning in east TX!
We're keeping the windows open as much as possible before the hot weather arrives and it appears that as long as the nights are cool, the house stays mighty pleasant during the day without air conditioning. I did a search at my other blog, mylisteningheart.blogspot.com for "air" & "central". And through the years I've written a lot about enjoying them both because there are 8 pages of *air* & 3 pages of "central". I really, really, liked my central air & heat. We'll see how we do this summer with two little window units in the main house.


Anyway - back to the kitchen!



This china hutch stands where the water heater used to be. . .and was visible from the front door of the house! While some might not like looking into an area of the kitchen from the front door- - - this is so much better than a water heater! And besides that, it does a great job of providing more kitchen storage.

Back story about the hutch. We first saw it when I was pregnant with our first son, and he turned 40 this year! We saw an ad in the paper for an antique store going out of business sale and even though we were skeptical, we went anyway. And we are so glad we did! There we found what we think is an Eastlake Victorian bedroom set: bed, dresser, & wash stand for $84. All three pieces for only $84!



We also fell in love with this old hall-tree, also $84.
I just ran over to an inflation calculator & if we were buying those same pieces in 2009, they would cost $486.05. I'm thinking in 2010, that $84 would be at least $500. And of course they're that much older & that would jack up the price even more. Even so. . . very good bargains, but a lot of money for a young married couple right out of high school!


We also fell in love with the china hutch but just couldn't afford it (also $84). We were telling hubby's mom our new *old* furniture & about the china hutch & she too fell in love with it & bought it, assuring us if she ever got rid of it she'd give it to us. And she did exactly that. When they moved from Houston to Alabama, hubby's dad wanted all new stuff & out went the china hutch - - - right to us, just as she promised!

All of these pieces have moved a bazillion times & we are blessed that the glass & mirror have stayed whole. And the plan is for them to never be moved again! They, like we, are
finally home.

As you can see, there's lots of storage going on in the china hutch. . .
once again using things we had on hand, things we love & those $5 canvas bins from Wal Mart.


From top: Coca Cola crate (from my folks) holds cookbooks & when having picnics here, will use to hold plastic-ware, napkins & condiments! Everything on that top shelf is either used or has special meaning to me.
Inside top: More cookbooks! :)
Next Shelf: Holds scales first used to weigh oldest son when he was a baby! Flour canister acquired decades ago was my grandmother's. The sugar canister is new.
Second from Bottom: Those wonderful, washable canvas bins they hold a multitude of kitchen *stuff*.
Bottom Shelf: A variety of bowls - some were given as a wedding gift way back when, one from hubby's aunt, one from my grandmother. The others collected along the way .
Which brings us to the Bottom Left - the turquoise cake carrier. I know where it came from - the thrift store & I fell in love with it & gladly gave 25 cents for it!
Anyway, I started to write just now that I really didn't know what was in it & how I was too lazy to get up & look. But curiosity got the best of me & I did go look & lo & behold! There were the 4 missing blue/white plates from my mom!
How serendipitous is that? I found 4 of my favorite plates & now I have more room for storage! That's just how it goes sometimes!
And that's how downsizing & decorating the kitchen has been for me: just doing it a little bit at a time. . . not rushing into anything. . . just waiting for the perfect items to show up. Tell me about your serendipitous decorating moment! I know you have at least one!
Later,
Vera